Virtual Worlds
I have never visited an online virtual world. I have not visited online worlds before because I have never had time to just sit down and spend time in a virtual world. I spent my time socializing, hanging out with friends, reading, at church, playing volleyball, and scrapbooking rather than in a virtual world.
I think that if a virtual world was completely educational and had everything to do with a lesson then it could have a place in a classroom. I do not know if they have a place in the classroom based on the time commitment though. So many teachers already complain about not having enough time to get through their curriculum now. I cannot imagine trying to add a virtual world into the madness that supposedly already exists (I guess I'll find out soon)! I can see virtual worlds being a huge time commitment and not have enough educational worth to be played in a school setting. If a virtual world was completely safe it might be an additional resource that students could use at home in their spare time instead of spending class time on it. A teacher would have to check the virtual world completely before suggesting it to be used by their students to make sure that it is safe and appropriate.
As educators we are just beginning to explore the possibilities of virtual worlds. I think it will sort out to be less time intensive and more helpful than we presently can know. So, this is simply an introduction to getting you thinking about the potentiality.
ReplyDeleteThanks! :-)